Addressing the Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Church

If you have been keeping up with the news, you know that the Catholic Church has been embroiled in a sex abuse scandal. From the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury findings to the revelations about former Cardinal McCarrick to the publishing of Archbishop Vigano’s letter, the news has been horrifying to receive.

At St. Joseph Church, we too have had a strong reaction to each new report. The revelations of abuse and cover up have raised a lot of questions and emotions within our community: How could this happen? Who knew about it? When did they know about it? What does this mean for us? We have felt disgusted, dissappointed, and frustrated.

With so much information and reaction swirling around this issue, it is important that we allow for clear, brave, and faithful voices to be heard. To that end, we have gathered some resources that we think are helpful for processing and reflecting on the current abuse crisis.

We know this page is an imperfect answer and won’t heal the hurt caused by this betrayal of trust. However, we do trust in God’s work and in God’s ability to turn even the worst brokenness into goodness and holiness through the healing power of the cross.